Captain's Log #41: A New Direction and Trade System + Ramming Ship Tease
Ahoy Pathfinders!
After lots of internal discussion we have decided to start cranking out more frequent, smaller content drops rather than larger, expansive features that take months to prepare. This ultimately does not change our current feature course, but rather than wait for more content we are simply going to drop what we’re working on now - the first iteration of the Trade System next week!
How does this affect your everyday pirate life? More dev news - you are going to hear from us more often on new features we are developing. Faster content drops means more new features, but also more map wipes. Good and bad, right?! In the true spirit of early access (which ATLAS certainly is still in!), we are going to tell our awesome community what we are working on, ask the community for gameplay feature ideas and see if some of them work….not every feature we test out will ultimately make it into the final game. We might change our mind!
Now without further ado, let’s talk about where we are at with some of the things we’re working on!
Trade System
Since we first started on this renewed ATLAS journey, we have introduced Farmhouses and Warehouses into the mix. We have hinted that these were more than just a standard QoL improvement. We are building upon these features to develop a Trade System!
We will be introducing a new structure, Markets, that are used to set up trades. Markets will need to be connected to a Warehouse, which in turn should be connected to a Farmhouse. Farmhouses are used to fill the Warehouse that the Market will use to look things up to trade. Markets will need to be placed next to a Warehouse and each Warehouse may only have one Market. Players will need to control both land for resources and Markets, and sea for Trade Routes.
In the actual Market itself, players will have a menu that will allow them to set up their resources for trade and the exchange rate at which they will trade for. Players can then request trading routes with other Markets. Once the trade route with another Market has been established, the connected Markets will automatically set up the trades as long as both parties have the required resources within their Warehouses. A log is also available in the Market menu to keep track of trades, requests, attacks on your shipment.
A new island type, Control Points, will be integral to the Trading System. Each grid on the server may have anywhere between 1-3 Control Points that companies can capture for an advantage. When trade conditions are met, Markets will create a shipment of the goods. This Trade ship will automatically sail to its target destination, going through any Control Points on the grids that are a part of its route. These shipments will also generate gold for each party - the longer the trade route, the more gold is generated. Companies that own a Control Point can set a tax on any shipment moving through it. If there is more than one Control Point on a grid, the shipment will automatically choose the lower tax if available. If a company owns a Control Point on the grid, it will prioritize the company’s to avoid tax. Companies that own a Control Point can also choose to blockade specific companies from using its Control Point, making it possible for companies to stop trades between others. Players will also be able to directly attack any shipments en route as well.
Control Point islands will have a unique icon on the map. These islands will contain a central structure surrounded by canon towers. Players will have to destroy all canon towers and the middle structure where they will have to plant a flag in order to gain control. The structures will then rebuild themselves and players will be able to place the canon towers at specific defensive points and build other defensive structures around them. Control points will automatically start defending itself once attacked. Next to the towers will be the Tax Bank where the taxed gold is collected. Unowned Control Points can still defend themselves and will collect taxes into its Tax Bank. Tax Banks can be destroyed and stolen from.
On PVE, no one can take ownership of the Control Points, so trades will always be open to anyone, however, the Control Points will always collect taxes at a set rate and PVE will also be able to steal from the Tax Bank.
Teaser: Ramming Ship
A couple months back, we wanted to add an early version of a new Ships for Gold system. Upon reviewing Community feedback and further ideation, we took the feature back to the drawing board to further develop. With the next update, you may see a new NPC on an island. Although he has no functionality yet, we are sure that Pathfinders will be paying him plenty of visits in the future. 😉
The Ships for Gold system will be slowly rolled out after we launch the Trade System. While we are still in development, we wanted to tease the first ship that will be available for players to buy with gold - The Ramming Ship!
***The render above is still a work in progress and is subject to change.
The Ramming Ship has a unique front end that is specialized for the purpose of - you guessed it - ramming straight into other ships! It features built in cannon ports and a lower deck with holes for oar boards that can be extended for a speed boost, even when there is no wind. Players can tactically use their oar boards for a temporary speed boost to increase their damage multiplier when ramming into an enemy ship! The Ramming Ship will likely not be customizable upon release, however, we are working on a modular customization mechanic for these new ships that can be bought for gold.
The design goal here is to provide an “Interceptor” option that can be used to catch fleeing ships or shorten a chase.
The current ship system will exist alongside this new ship system when it launches. However, apart from the Sloop, previous ships will additionally cost gold to build. Generating gold with trade routes will be integral to earning enough gold for upkeep.
Final Note
Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch may be different from what was previously discussed.
As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! We will be paying extra attention to your thoughts on the upcoming Trade System and Ships for Gold, and will continue to make adjustments as necessary. Thank you for all of your support! 🙂
Servers will be going down shortly at 4:00PM PT for maintenance. Estimated 30-40 min downtime. We're also happy to announce that the ATLAS DevKit will be updated at this time! Thank you everyone who has been waiting patiently for it!
Happy Sailing, - ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
ATLAS PATCH: V410.2
Ahoy Pathfinders!
The upcoming patch will be more focused on fixes and balance passes as we continue to look into combat and also develop the farmhouse and warehouse system. Ships of the Damned issues among other bugs have also been fixed.
We’d like to thank our community for all of your feedback thus far. As we continue to engage with the community, we’d like to introduce a survey to help us better quantify community sentiment regarding certain changes to our patches. We would be grateful if you could fill out the survey for v.410.2 here: https://forms.gle/tvcdYcDqhBPP3bRY7
The Patch is scheduled for tonight, 9/01 at 8:00 PM Pacific Time Zone.
Please see below for the detailed Patch Notes of our latest update, v.410.2
RELEASED PATCH NOTES
Combat
Shield bash can no longer be used while in the air
Bug Fix: Soft Spots Feat now only affects Two-Handed Mace
Bug Fix: Brass Knuckles no longer affect shield bash damage
Construction
Structures can no longer be built on tables
Grills, Crop Plots, Water Pipes, Paintings, Flags, and Buoys can no longer be built in Freeports or on land claimed by another company
Crafting
Cloth Armor and Simple Bed may now also be crafted at the Loom
Waterskin may now also be crafted at the Tannery
Wood Wall/Floor/Ceiling/Roof, Repair Hammer, and Storage Boxes (including large) may now also be crafted at the Smithy
New Skill added to Artillery Tree: Captain of Renown - As a master of both crew and artillery, your exploits as a pirate are known far and wide. Recruits seek you out allowing you to craft artillery that comes manned for an extra bit of coin. Requires BOTH Gatling Studies from the Artillery Tree
New Crafting Recipes added to the Smithy: Manned Cannon, Manned Large Cannon, and Manned Puckle - These recipes cost the same resources as their unmanned variants plus an additional 10 gold coins Crew will spawn at them after 30 seconds and man the station
Explosive Barrels
Explosive Barrel projectiles that don't explode on impact can be defused
Explosive Barrel toss distance increased by 50%
Tossed Explosive Barrels no longer stick to players, creatures, or the sides of structures
Catapult reload time for Explosive Barrels changed to 2 seconds
Bug Fix: Barrels placed or tossed onto ships will now explode when their timer expires
Bug Fix: Explosive Barrels shot out of cannons will no longer instantly stick to the water
Golden Age Ruins Creatures (Fire Elementals, Rock Elementals, and Cyclops)
XP awarded after creature's death instead of per hit
Damage dealt to ships increased by 100%
Damage dealt to players decreased by 20%
Ships
Increased the range of Ship Ammunition Container from 30m to 40m
Bug Fix: Ships no longer leave behind their frame when destroyed
Bug Fix: Ships of the Damned should now behave normally
Submarines
Bug Fix: Horse cart weapons can no longer be fired from a submarine
Bug Fix: Grenades can no longer be thrown from Submarines
Tames
Cows can be ridden by equipping a Tier 2 Saddle
Warehouses and Farmhouses
Reduced exclusion radius for placing Warehouses from 2km to 800m
Increased the weight limit in the Warehouse from 50,000 to 250,000 and increased max inventory items from 40 to 100
Added 'Transfer All,' 'Transfer Half,' and 'Transfer Amount' option to Warehouse and Farmhouse inventory, similar to how stacks may be split in player inventory
Warehouses, Farmhouses, and Stone Farmhouses no longer use Wood or Thatch as fuel and instead use Coal/Oil, which lasts 60/120 seconds per unit
Warehouses now transport Wood and Thatch
Warehouses no longer transport Oil or Coal (This solution will be iterated on soon)
Bug Fix: Warehouses and Farmhouses no longer have crafting inventory section that falsely implies you can craft in them
Happy Sailing, - ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
State of the Game and Ask a Pirate Day - Q&A with the Devs #3
Ahoy Pathfinders.
Right now, the crew is working diligently on Ship of the Damned issues where they are not moving as they should. We will also be addressing the ship skeletons that are not despawning, amongst other issues as well.
Shifting the Meta
Since season 1, many hours have gone into creating PVP centric mechanics in ATLAS. Seasons 2 and 3 saw many changes that restricted the use of these mechanics. We’re interested in highlighting these unique mechanics, and are looking at different ways to bring them back into the mix and balance them further. As the current state of the game develops, so will the meta.
Starting with the next patch, we’ll be unveiling a quick survey on the latest changes that all players can take, so that we can get a better understanding of the community’s sentiments.
We also have more Q&A from the crew below:
Ask a Pirate
Question: When will we get a feature complete small group map where all the content is included? If I missed it, don't hesitate to point me in the right direction. Blackwood is broken/doesn't have all resources. We had a 4x4 private server and our group tried Blackwood when it launched, but the resources are reversed, and there are only a few types of rare metals/woods etc.
Answer: There's no clear roadmap for that right now. We are putting everything behind cleaning up the main game and adding new features to it.
Question: When ATLAS first released, it was mentioned that humans would be able to create offspring, is that tabled forever? Reference: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/12/19/atlas-pirate-mmo-developer-interview/
Answer: We totally want this, but we think it's fair to say that this is a long way off. Atlas has many bugs and systems that need to be optimized / improved. Once we get that down, we can expand into this kind of territory.
Question: Are you considering more PvE ocean jobs like strictly whaling, lobstering, shrimping or fishing for rare aquatic stuff?
Answer: Yes! You get it! We really want to put way more things for players to do on the ocean and that is one line of our two prong strategy. We are halftime working on cleaning up the code, which means removing bugs and readdressing broken systems, and the other half of the time we are focused on more ocean-centric features
Question: Will there ever be more underwater ships (in addition to submarine) for a new level of combat?
Answer: There are lots to fix and improve in the main game before we expand to this. Right now the team is focusing on getting a solid base of fun coming from the existing game with a larger number of players playing.
Question: What about the problem where we sail into a lot of SoTD after crossing another server? I sunk 2 times because of it... 1 time with a brig and 1 with a schooner. They are so often way too close to the server edge. I don't mind fighting them, but sailing into 2-4 SoTD will kill any small ship, especially without any canons. How can we react that fast? When we reach another server, they already shoot before we even see that they are attacking.
Answer: Having Ships of the Damned crossing into other servers can make this dynamic encounter more in-depth. We hear you about loading into a grid just to get attacked. The right balance is more complicated than you might think and this team is committed to doing things the right way.
For a chance to get your questions answered, you can submit them to us in the comments here or on Discord!
Featured Screenshot
Don’t forget to submit photos on Steam and Xbox, or tag us in your screenshots on Social Media! You may just get featured in our next post. Here is a belated International Cat Day photo from player “Glider” on Steam.
Happy Sailing, -ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
v409.1 - Warehouses Available Now!
Ahoy Pathfinders!
We’re excited to bring you phase 2 of the new features we are currently rolling out! Expanding from the Farmhouse system we introduced last patch, Warehouses are a new structure type that players may build at the smithy. We are shifting Stone Farmhouses and Warehouses to a new skill - Advanced Automation, which can be found in the Construction Tree (requires Esotery of Building).
Warehouses can be used in conjunction with Farmhouses to automatically collect and store the resources gathered from Farmhouses. Gone are the days of having to tediously move resources to and from for storage. Simply craft and place the Warehouse and it will begin gathering from all farmhouses within a 500m radius. Ever get confused by which of your storage boxes has which resources? With its large storing capacity, you can now easily access all your resources in one place! Any basic resource and alloy can be put into the warehouse, it will not store finished goods.
We’ve also made a few tweaks to improve and balance Farmhouses. Again, these systems are still a work in progress and we are continuing to change and develop on Farmhouses and Warehouses as we examine gameplay and receive player feedback.
The Warehouse update also includes an Explosive Barrels rework and a couple of minor balance changes on Puckles and Army of the Damned.
For more details on Warehouses and other changes, see the full patch notes below:
Released Patch Notes
New Skill: Advanced Automation
Added Advanced Automation to the Construction Tree
Requires Esotery of Building
Cost is 12 skill points
New Warehouse and Stone Farmhouse added to this skill
New Feature: Warehouse
New structure type, Warehouse, may be built at the smithy
Warehouse is a structure that automatically collects Resources from Farmhouses in range
Will not gather Wood/Thatch, which is fuel for Farmhouses
Gathers from Farmhouses within 500m
Gather Rate is 5% of the Farmhouse inventory every 10 minutes
Warehouses may not be placed closer than 2km to another Warehouse
Warehouses must be placed within 30m of the shore
Warehouse takes thatch or wood as fuel
More than one Warehouse can hit the same farm
Warehouses have 40 storage slots
Warehouse stacksize is 10,000 units
Max Inventory Weight is 50,000
Warehouse health is 40,000
Warehouses are not taxed
*For reference, 1 foundation is 2m
Explosive Barrels
Instant detonation option removed
Setting the detonation timer is now a separate action from lighting the fuse
Detonation timer can now be set and viewed in inventory
The fuse is automatically lit when a carried barrel is placed!
Added defuse option: any player can defuse an explosive barrel
Can now be used as ammo in Cannons, Large Cannons, and Catapults
Duplication bug fixed
Impact Behavior for Barrels Fired out of Cannons
Explode instantly on impact with ships, structures, players, or creatures
In water, barrels float for six seconds before sinking. They explode when their timer expires
Otherwise, barrels explode after their timer expires
Impact Behavior for Tossed Barrels
In water, barrels float for six seconds before sinking. They explode when their timer expires
Otherwise, barrels explode after their timer expires
Damage Immunity
Placed barrels are immune to ranged damage
Carried barrels are immune to all damage
Destroyed barrels no longer explode unless as part of a chain reaction with another barrel
**Known Issue: When attempting to throw a barrel while on a ship, the barrel will drop where the player is standing and then explode. We are working out how to resolve this issue and will send out a patch for it as soon as we can.
Farmhouses
Farmhouses can no longer be placed in water
Farmhouse now only transfers a single stack of resources into player's inventory per transfer interaction
Increased distance requirement between Farmhouse placement from 120m to 200m
Farmhouse harvest rate reduced by 25% overall
Harvest Interval increased from 15 seconds to 60 seconds (gathers 1/4 as often)
Harvest amount increased (gathers 3x as much)
Stone Farmhouse has been moved to Advanced Automation Skill in Construction Tree
Updated resource costs of constructing a Stone Farmhouse
Changed 360 Metal to 180 Alloy
Added 80 Organic Paste as additional cost
Reduced the Draw Distance of Farmhouse from 1 kilometer to 400 meters
Reduced health of basic Farmhouse from 30k to 20k
Miscellaneous
Reduced NPC cost on Puckles by 50%
Army of the Damned can now be damaged by swivel guns
Happy Sailing, -ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
Captain’s Log #40: Warehouse Teaser and Endgame Discussion
Ahoy Pathfinders!
Our commitment to bringing new features to ATLAS continues. ATLAS is still in Early Access, and we’re only in the beginning stages of developing the renewed ATLAS journey. Many changes are incoming and a lot of work is being done behind the scenes. All of your feedback has been very helpful and we’re thankful you’re taking this voyage with us as we shape the ATLAS experience.
Many of you have expressed that you wanted to hear more about our vision as we breathe new life into ATLAS. From the highest level, the main efforts are towards making the ocean fun and cleaning up the code. We are putting equal efforts into fixing bugs and rickety systems while we work on new things for you to do on the water. Apart from that, we feel that ATLAS suffers from a theming problem. In some aspects, the game tries to be almost a simulation, but in others, there are dragons and hydras. Currently, this creates a bit of incongruence which we are working to solve. Unifying the theme is one of the broader arcs within the design team. For example, it's fair to say that we want to edge away from being a high fantasy, "WoW with ships". There are lots of great ideas we are playing with, but nothing that we are able to share at this point. As we get closer to defining our ideas, we’ll bring them out onto the deck for you guys. :)
One of the bigger changes is a new, more optimized system for ships and new types of ships. This includes the mechanic of buying certain types of ships for gold. We’ve seen a lot of excitement and feedback around this topic, with many players hoping to find out more info about its current state. Unfortunately, that's all we can say right now. Please know there is a steady stream of content planned and we're half timing on that and half timing on fixing the bugs and cleaning up the code as we navigate towards a 1.0 release.
A lot of these bigger changes are going to take some time to fully implement, and some of the changes happening now are setting the foundations for that gameplay. Think of them as building blocks. For example, although the Farmhouses are indeed a QoL update, it’s just the first step in a longer scheme for a new system. Now, we’re excited to announce the second step - Warehouses!
Warehouses
Warehouses will be coming to ATLAS next week! Connect Warehouses to Farmhouses to automatically store the resources you gather! How will this system continue to evolve? You’ll have to wait and see. ;)
Please note that Farmhouses and Warehouses are still in their first iteration. We will continue to develop and improve them as we look at gameplay and receive player feedback.
We’re sure you have many questions on how the Warehouse itself will function as well. Leave us your questions in the comments section! We’ll be going more in-depth about Warehouses in the patch notes next week.
In the meantime, we’d like to share some of the concept art for Warehouses below:
Endgame Encounters & EXP
We’ve received a lot of questions about the boss encounters continuing to reward EXP. After careful consideration, we will be leaving it “as is” for the remainder of Season 4. We appreciate the reports you all have been sending us. Through your feedback, we saw that the problems with the boss encounters were a priority issue that the community wanted addressed. In the process of introducing the fixes, we found that it is a deep rabbit hole of accumulated issues. Unfortunately, it is going to take us some time to fully sort it out. We are a small but dedicated team with big aspirations, and there is a balance that we want to strike when it comes to implementing new features while continuing to work on existing bugs and balance issues. At this time, we currently do not have the resources to properly approach boss encounters and the myriad of issues surrounding the current state of endgame content. We have therefore come to recognize that it would be better to leave the boss encounters as is while we focus on implementing the next steps of the new system we are currently rolling out. We’ll still continue to include other fixes and adjustments as we can, but we will have to apologize for where we have to leave the state of endgame for now. However, please know that adjustments will be made before the next season wipe.
Please note, the zeroing out on some of the endgame exp is temporary. As an Early Access title, many things can and will continue to change during development - and your feedback is an integral part of our approach. We are very grateful for the reports and feedback we’ve received thus far and will continue to look to the community to help guide our actions and improve our processes. Thank you for not only helping us discover these issues, but for the insight you provide us as well. As our First Mate, the community, and the support and dedication we receive from you, means a lot to us.
Happy Sailing, - ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information:
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
Ask A Pirate Day. Q&A With the Devs #2
Ahoy Pathfinders!
We’re happy to see that many of you responded with much interest in our last Q&A with the developers! We’re here with our 2nd round of Ask a Pirate Day, where our developers aka the crew answer your questions from Twitter, Facebook, Steam, Discord, and of course, the forums.
Remember guys, we’re still in the very beginning stages of this renewed Atlas journey! The changes that we are making and considering are setting the framework for more changes to come! You can’t have a building without a solid foundation first, am I right mateys? As we continue to examine the game and receive your feedback, it is possible that we may change courses as well. Thanks for joining us in Early Access to help shape the ATLAS experience.
Without further ado, here is our next set of Q&A! :)
DEVELOPER Q&A
Question: Do you guys have any plans to fix the issue of people using freeports as safe storage?
Answer: Yes. However, it may take some time to implement any changes.
Question: Do you plan to balance Drake? It seems very hard compared to Hydra.
Answer: A larger pass of all encounters is coming and we will endeavor to fix this then.
Question: When do you guys plan to update the optimization of the game? Even people with good graphics cards have a hard time getting 60fps with high settings.
Answer: That is in the works. As we head towards 1.0, things should get better.
Question: Can you guys make mounts less of a focus in this game?
Answer: We agree. More and more "design energy" is being put into ships and the ocean. We are also planning some simplifications for land-based interactions. The changes we are making now are really the foundation for changes planned for the future. It may not be obvious choices now but hang in there with us.
Question: Will the 120 level cap on creatures be adjusted, or set to be adjusted, so those who would like to play a bit more with breeding be allowed to do so?
Answer: Right now, we are focused on putting more fun stuff on the water and encouraging players to play around there more. So, for now, I'm afraid this is a "no". Hang in there, though. Again, we’d like to emphasize that the changes we are making now are really the foundation for changes planned for the future.
Question: When can we get the devkit updated?
Answer: It's in the works as we speak.
Question: Are we ever getting new ships?
Answer: Yes, we are working on a new, more optimized system and will be launching additional ships once that's in.
Question: Are you ever going to increase the structure limit on ships?
Answer: It's hard to say. Right now we are taking a deep dive into making ships more viable and interesting as a whole and that may or may not play into it.
Question: Any plans to delve into an upgraded Atlas version on Unreal 5?
Answer: I would love that. We are looking into the possibility of it.
Question: Will there ever be an option to seat and unseat crew from cannons and sails from the wheel from the radial menu?
Answer: That is something we are currently considering. The realism of NPC's and NPC management is front of mind with respect to ships, but nothing firm has been decided. All I can tell you is that we don't like how stiff they are either.
Question: Any plans to pay NPCs to gather resources, man ships, etc? Will the NPCs be a little smarter?
Answer: Cleaning up everything about NPC's is going to come first and then we'll take a look at how we can grow them. But for now, this is a long way off.
Question: Will you make animals immune to damage while in a bola on pve. So much griefing going on.
Answer: Yeah, we understand that PVE is a bit rough. We'll take a look.
Question: Will there be a focus on bringing the ocean more content? New ships, more parts to make ships better looking, maybe different sails, and fixing the current ones.
Answer: Absolutely. That is our primary focus right now.
Question: Are you going to add a mail system to talk to other pathfinders in regions other than your own? As well as other MMO features?
Answer: Right now we don't have any dedicated plans for mail, but there are some systems coming online that may facilitate the development of a mail system and others that would definitely benefit from it. It won't be soon but it may well happen.
Like always, we’ll try to answer as many questions as we can in our next Q&A session. Please feel free to ask away on this forum post, Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Steam!
Happy Sailing, - ATLAS Crew
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
Patch v407.2 - It's Time to Farm, Pathfinders!
Ahoy Pathfinders!
We find ourselves on the cusp of a new frontier as the crew begins rolling in new and exciting changes and content! As mentioned previously - the first of these new features, Farmhouses, are here! Let’s dive in and get a little in-depth about the update!
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Farmhouses
Available under the Construction & Mercantilism Esotery of Building, players can construct both Wood & Stone Farmhouses in the Smithy. Farmhouses will require at least one thatch or wood unit for fuel to start gathering resources from nearby nodes, and as long as there are thatch and wood nodes within the area, the farmhouse will continue to fuel itself. Talk about efficiency! Players will be able to determine the farming radius based off of the light blue sphere during placement. Any resource with at least one node within the radius will be collected.
Additional Details:
Structures built within the Farmhouse radius will reduce the farming efficiency
The Farmhouse has 30 slots in its inventory
Resources collected in the Farmhouse inventory will stack up to 10,000 units
When collecting resources, they will be distributed within the player inventory at the normal stack size
Farmhouse caps at 8000 weight and will stop auto-farming when reaching this point
Stone Farmhouse gathers slightly faster and is more difficult to destroy
Farmhouses may not be placed within 12,000 units of another Farmhouse.
While it will still be faster to manually farm for resources when you need something right away, a Farmhouse is sure to be a necessity in the long term. Be sure to take care of your farmhouse, other pathfinders may be eyeing to pillage it! It can be hard to tell when some resources go missing because you have such a large stockpile up for grabs. 😉
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Ships for Gold
Last week we also announced that Buying Ships for Gold would be coming in this update. However, the tides have changed our course! We heard feedback from the community regarding Buying Ships for Gold, and it spurned our creative juices. We’ll be holding on to this to make it into a more comprehensive feature! It’ll be well worth the wait, mateys! 🙂
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Changes
As we mentioned last week, all players above level 80 will be reduced to level 80 in response to a leveling abuse. This was not a decision that we made lightly and we greatly considered community feedback on this matter. After the crew considered all options and looked into what was possible within the current infrastructure of ATLAS, we decided this would be the best course of action. The level cap will remain 120, so Pathfinders can pick back up and get right back into their journey. Although this may also affect some righteous Pathfinders who were able to level up far, we felt that this was in the best interest for the health of the game. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and greatly appreciate your patience and understanding. We will be improving our processes moving forward and are committed to making sure that ATLAS is a fun and fair experience for all.
With the Farmhouses, we have included a few balance adjustments and tackled a tricky fix as well. We’re making some adjustments to the Army of the Damned Treasure Guards in an effort to make certain content more accessible for all styles of pirating! The difficulty will remain the same, but the reduced mob size should make the encounter more manageable for solo Pathfinders and smaller crews. See the complete change log for v407.2 in the patch notes section below!
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Patch Notes
v407.2
Farmhouse
Added Farmhouse and Stone Farmhouse to the Esotery of Building Skill
Requires Smithy to Craft
Initial Balance pass on gather speed, radius, cost to build, max weight, fuel cost, etc
Army of the Damned Treasure Guards
Reduced number of guards spawned per wave to three
Modified type of guards spawned
Abominable Snowman Encounter
Removed XP reward
Explosive Barrel
Fixed duplication bug
Player XP Rollback
Any characters over level 80 have been rolled back to level 80
Teaser: Coming Next Week - Farmhouses and Buying Ships with Gold!
Yo ho! Pathfinders.
As previously promised there is some new ATLAS content on the horizon! We’re excited to bring you all a little sneak peek of two of the new features in our next update coming next week!
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Farmhouses
Introducing the first of our upcoming features, Farmhouses! Tired of toiling away on land like a landlubber, when you could be out adventuring on the high seas? You’re in luck! The new Farmhouses will automatically collect resources within a range around itself. All you scallywags can now spend less time on your chores and more time sailing out beyond the shores!
Take a gander at some of the concept art for various Farmhouses styles below: *Please note that these are concept art and not the final rendition.
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Buy Ships with Gold
In addition to the upcoming Farmhouse update, we’ll also be introducing the ability to purchase ships with gold. Building ships is core to the ATLAS experience, so you can still craft your own masterpiece. Afterall, nothing beats the beauty of a ship that you create with your own blood, sweat, and tears! However, if you have a chest full o’gold and are anxious to get out sea quickly, purchasable ships will come in handy! We’ll be interested to see how this option will expand sea travel and interactions.
More details to come! Stay tuned!
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Happy Sailing,
-ATLAS Crew
⚓For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information:⚓ Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
Ask A Pirate Day. Q&A With the Devs
Ahoy Pathfinders!
We appreciate all the feedback we have received, both written by hardened sea dogs, and those still getting their feet wet. We’re monitoring the waves in the Forums, Discord, Steam, Reddit, Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook. Even when we hit rocky shores, you’re there mannin’ the sails. We’re excited to answer some questions that have popped up during our new journey in ATLAS Season 4: The Maelstrom and we hope you’re looking forward to all the new content that will be released in the coming months, like Trade Winds, Farms, Warehouses, 'n more!
Below are some questions & answers regarding the future development of ATLAS, straight from the horse’s mouth.
Question: I guess my main [question] would be about new PVP official servers. When you claim an island, is it safe for you or do raids happen? I don't mind PVP at sea but base raids suck. Just curious. Thanks.
Answer: Atlas is intended to be a game about pirates, and while our land-based combat is deep and rich, the new energy behind Atlas is to bring that depth and richness to sea as well. More interesting interactions with the oceans and ships is where we are pointed and we'll be making a host of changes to drive more player energy in that direction. Look for our future development to lean towards creating opportunities for greater rewards and higher risks on the water with more opportunities for opt-in conflict.
Question: So, I believe that this is the first time that you've acknowledged "seasons". Are you guys considering regular wipes to ATLAS pvp? in many hardcore pvpers opinions, there should be to keep the game fresh. It seems to drop off about 3-4 months in. or maybe a server for it to test?
Answer: We agree that it's important for the health of a survival game to have energetic competition over resources, but we want to have our cake and eat it too. So, we are looking for ways to keep these struggles fresh without completely tossing out player progress. We think that coming at it from both sides and wiping when necessary while at the same time helping players hold on to their progress will lead to a vibrant environment of continuous conflict without stagnation.
Question: Will ATLAS be available on PS4?
Answer: For sure, we want Atlas to be accessible on as many platforms as possible. We are considering whether that means trying to go to PS4 at the end of its life cycle or holding out for the PS5, which is not far off. Until that decision is made, we are focussing on bringing all the new features to our existing players.
We hope that answered some of your lingering questions. We have many more questions out there in the deep, and we plan to have Ask a Pirate day as a regular Forum post. Feel free to drop questions here or on our other social channels, and your question might get picked.
Also, be sure to hashtag your screenshots with #PlayATLAS and tag us for a chance to be featured on our forum posts. Here's a screenshot by bombtrackbart on Twitter.
Happy Sailing, - ATLAS Crew For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame
Trade System
For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information
